Srinagar: As the Election Commission is still working on the dates of the Assembly Elections in the restive state of Jammu and Kashmir, an alliance between the new political stakeholders is all set to challenge the traditional politics of the Valley.
Engineer Rashid, the firebrand politician and former legislator from the Langate constituency of north Kashmir, tied up with Shah Faesal, the IAS officer-turned-politician, who had recently launched his own political party.
The two-time legislator stunned everyone in the parliamentary polls by leading in five out of 15 assembly seats in north Kashmir. He was considered a non-entity by the National Conference and the Sajad Lone-led People's Conference.
Rashid secured 1,01,500 votes. He was 31,192 votes behind the political bigwig of National Conference (NC) and polled 827 votes less than Sajad Lone's Peoples Conference candidate.
Former IAS officer Shah Faesal launched his political party 'Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement' in March this year. The 2010 IAS batch topper resigned from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in January this year to protest violence in Kashmir and "marginalisation of Muslims".
“We have formed alliance and an agenda of alliance is being prepared,” a senior party functionary told News18.
“We will try to contest on every seat in Jammu and Kashmir and there will be a seat sharing agreement,” the party leader said adding, “they will work with strategy so that votes do not get divided.”
The party leaders in Faesal’s said that their motive is to defeat the “communal forces and their allies in the state.”
“Our idea is to create an alliance which work against the forces which are trying to divide the state. It will be a people’s alliance,” the leader said. Both the parties seem to be stronger in the northern part of Kashmir valley and it will emerge as a challenge for the separatist-turned politician Sajad Lone’s party.
Already people from NC and PDP have joined Faesal, like former minister and PDP leader Javaid Mir, and according to sources some other leaders may also join.
The people who are privy to the alliance said that it is to “unite the secular forces”. “Wherever we feel that by placing our candidate it will favour the decisive forces, we will stay away and help the secular forces,” the party leader said.
This new alliance is also going to pose serious challenge for the traditional parties, National Conference and People's Democratic Party.
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